Aussies Again Pondering Opening Options with Veteran Not Fit for Day-Night Ashes Test
Usman Khawaja’s international future is up in the air after the opener was ruled out of the second NRMA Insurance Test against England due to the back injury he suffered in Perth almost two weeks ago.
Josh Inglis and Beau Webster are both in the mix to return to Australia’s XI after the Aussies ruled out Khawaja but did not replace him in the squad.
khawaja, who turns 39 later this month, had a 30-minute hit in the Gabba practise nets on Tuesday. The left-hander appeared in discomfort at times and has not recovered well enough to be available for selection for the match beginning Thursday.
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
It means Australia could field yet another new opener in this Ashes series after Khawaja’s back spasms in the first Test forced Marnus Labuschagne and then Travis Head to be deployed as makeshift options.
“It’s hard, because he’s put in a lot of work since the last game just trying to get his body right but he hasn’t come up sadly,” paceman Scott Boland told reporters on Tuesday.
“I thought he looked pretty good in the nets,but he must have thought in himself that he wasn’t ready to go.”
Head indicated this week he would be happy to take on the new ball again after his match-winning fourth-innings century flummoxed England, though that could expose Australia’s most impactful middle-order batter to more difficult batting situations in this upcoming pink-ball encounter.
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